Hardships
by Jon-Ur
Summary: A series of one-shots based on the character and events of my story "The Hunter's Heir." From scenarios like the early lives of the characters to the far-flung future of their existence, nothing is off the table. (Feel free to suggest entries in reviews or private messages.)
1. Chapter 1

**December 22, 1992; Miami, Florida**

Leto stares at her youngest child, face a mix between disbelief and horror; the shock of what her son has just told her is still flowing through her body.

Apollo was dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans. His hair was disheveled, like he'd been running his hand through it—a nervous habit he'd picked up in his younger days. His blue eyes were wide and worried, and his jaw was clenched, like he was nervous. Those details were secondary to Leto, however.

It's what he's _holding_ that arrests her attention.

A small bundle is being held protectively in his arms, wrapped in a light blue blanket. Little fingers poke out from the folds, and Leto can partially make out a face.

"Gods," she breathes.

"I need your help, Mom," Apollo says, a note of desperation creeping into his voice.

"What can I do?" she asks.

"Watch him, take care of him, I don't know." He looks down at the baby, then back at her. "I can't be around him full-time. People will get suspicious if I'm spending most of my time in the mortal world."

"Why not give him to an orphanage?"

"Because it's too dangerous!"

A small murmur from the baby freezes them, but all it does is shift slightly and go back to sleep.

Releasing a breath, Apollo says, "Orion's still out there, and Niobe too for all I know. If they get their hands on him, they'll turn him into a weapon."

"…And Artemis?" she asks quietly. "What about her?"

Apollo breathes heavily. "She'll kill him."

" _She would not!_ " she hisses, aghast that he would suggest a thing so vile.

"You don't think so? I know my sister, Mother, and I've seen her do unspeakable things to men. _Especially_ if they've wronged her."

"How could he wrong her? He's a _baby._ "

"Yes, he's _her_ baby. You know her vow, Mother—never to have children, or have relations with men."

"So?"

"So how do you think she'll react when she finds out _her worst enemy_ created a child using her essence? I've seen her turn men into rodents for _looking_ at her the wrong way. What do you think her reaction will be to…this?" He adjusts the baby in his arms.

Leto let out a breath. "She'll kill him."

"She'll kill him," he repeats, sadly. "Look, I don't like this either, but…it's either be turned into a weapon or death. Mother, he…he didn't do anything wrong. Doesn't he deserve a good life? A happy life?"

Leto sighs and walks over to him, gently pulling the baby from her son's arms. He scrunches up his face but doesn't make a sound, preferring instead to remain asleep. Leto's lips tug upward at the image.

"Okay," she murmurs. She looks up and says it louder, but not loud enough to disturb the baby. "Okay. I'll help you."

Apollo sighs and smiles, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you, Mom."

"Mmm. We can't keep him here, though." Her condo is too publicly known to keep a baby. Both Artemis and Hermes make frequent visits (for lunch and gossip magazine deliveries, respectively), not to mention several of the mortal women she's befriended during her stay here. No, this place would not do.

"I know. I've got a place set up in New York. It's secluded, so no one should stumble upon us unless they _know_ who's there."

"I don't know about this, Apollo. I still think we should tell Artemis. Maybe you or I could talk to her beforehand, to explain—"

"We can't, Mother. Niobe _wanted_ Artemis to meet him. It's part of her plan. I'm sorry."

Niobe closes her eyes and opens them again. The thought of keeping such a secret from her eldest is maddening, but she supposes Apollo is right, however wrong it might seem.

"Does he have a name?" she asks, looking down at him. A few tufts of black hair are sticking out from his pink head, and his eyes are open; he must have woken up while they spoke. His eyes are like liquid gold, identical to his mother's. The sight almost makes Leto lose her breath. She'd been needlessly heckling her daughter for grandchildren for millennia, and Artemis had refused each time. Leto had accepted it after two centuries, and only kept doing so to annoy her daughter, but now…

Now the sight of one is precious enough to get her to go through with Apollo's deception.

"Niobe wanted to call him Diomedes," Apollo says.

She scoffs. "Diomedes? Seriously?" The name had a rich history and sounded valiant when rolled off the tongue, but hopelessly old fashioned.

"I like Hunter," she says, poking her grandson's chin with a finger. He cooed and reached for her face. She smiled.

"Hunter? Really? Isn't that a bit…I don't know…on the nose?"

"Maybe, but I think it's fitting. How about you? Don't tell me he doesn't look like a Hunter to you?" She tilted the baby toward him, letting him look at his face.

Something moves behind her son's eyes, and he sighs and says, "Fine. Hunter it is."

She giggles and brings the baby closer to her face. "Hello, Hunter. I'm Leto, your grandmother."

* * *

 **December 25, 1992; Brasher Falls State Forest, New York**

It has been three days since she agreed to watch over her grandson, and it has been three days since she slept through the night.

Hunter's screams wake her from a peaceful slumber, and she rolls out of bed. One of the blankets catches on her leg and she nearly falls flat on her face before righting herself. She tries to rub the sleep from her eyes, but it is no use, and she arrives in the nursery exhausted.

The cabin Apollo has made for them is cozy and small: a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms adjacent to one another. A fire is roaring in the fireplace, and a torrential snowstorm is raging outside.

Idly, she wonders if it has something to do with the tantrum that is being thrown in her grandson's bedroom. _No,_ she decides. _It can't be that._ Artemis has no great ability to control the weather, and Niobe and Orion are likely incapable of such feats. _Coincidence, then._ Still, it is no small feat that the baby in the bassinette is howling loud enough to put the wind to shame.

Hunter's tiny hands are balled up into fists, his feet kicking wildly. She gathers him in her arms, cooing lightly to shush him. "Hush, little one, hush," she says softly. He looks up at her with his beautiful golden eyes, and for a moment she is certain he will fall back to sleep.

The Fates have other ideas for her.

He begins screaming four seconds later, with enough fury to make even Zeus take pause. It is confusing and irritating. As Titaness of Motherhood, childrearing has always been easy for her. She knew the needs and wants of her nieces and nephews when she met them; to say nothing of Apollo and Artemis, who were open books to her.

But Hunter is a mystery.

Perhaps it is because he is mortal, and thus is not able to clearly understand what he wants; or perhaps because he is part giant, and cries for reasons she cannot discern. He does not need his diaper changed, and he is not hungry, because he turns away the bottle of formula she offers.

He falls asleep after thirty minutes of endless crying, and Leto puts him back down gently, fearful she will wake him in some way. She leaves quickly, closing the door softly behind her. She throws herself on her bed, forgetting completely about the blanket on the floor.

When she is woken by Hunter's screams just before dawn, it is too soon.

She carries him to the kitchen, pulling one of the formulae bottles she has from the refrigerator. She holds it out for him, hoping—praying—that he will eat; he has done little of that in the past few days, and she is terrified he will waste away.

His lips close around the nipple and he begins to suck eagerly. She is just beginning to feel hopeful when he spits it out and presses his face into her chest, letting out a shriek of indignation.

She sits down at the kitchen table, and begins to cry as well.

Three days later, Apollo returns, nudging the cabin door open gently with his foot. Hunter is laying on his belly on the couch, sleeping. Thankfully no pillows are around, so there's no chance of suffocation.

"Hey, kiddo," he says, because _nephew_ sounds too foreign for him. He puts the bag of groceries in his hand—a part of his weekly care packages he delivers to the house—and his honey-glazed tart, courtesy of Aphrodite, who is currently celebrating the birth of a baby girl named Silena, onto the couch next to the baby.

Curious, he looks around. Leto is nowhere in sight, which is odd for her; she is usually a stone's throw away from Hunter, ready to jump into action at the faintest hint of discomfort.

Instead, he finds her pacing in the kitchen biting her finger with her eyes darting around, anxious.

"What's wrong?" he asks, confused; Leto has never acted like this, always calm and collected.

She jumps, then looks ashamed. "He still won't eat," she says.

Apollo blinks, confused. "Anything?" Aren't babies supposed to eat whatever's put in front of them?

She shakes her head. "No. He'll swallow a bit of milk, but a few hours later he'll be puking it back up." She pinches the bridge of her nose. "I don't know what to _do_."

Apollo can only imagine what she is going through. As the Titan of Motherhood, it must be maddening to be uncertain about the care of a child, especially her own grandson. He supposes that if he couldn't master a musical instrument or drive his sun chariot properly, he might go mad too.

"How long can a baby survive without food?" The question scares him, but he needs to know how serious this is.

"A few days, maybe a week. It depends." She nods her head toward the living room doorway. "He isn't exactly an average baby, Apollo."

"I know." He runs a hand through his golden hair. "Look, I've got a few more bags outside; why don't you help me bring those in, and I'll help you figure this out."

Leto breathes heavily, then nods. "Yes. Yes, that sounds good. Come on, let's go." She moves to the doorway, but stops suddenly, for the sight before her takes her breath away.

"Mom?" Apollo asks, looking over her shoulder. "What's—? Hey!" He takes a step forward, but Leto grabs the neck of his shirt and pulls him back, ignoring the choked sound me makes.

"What's—?" he starts, but is quickly shushed when Leto hisses through her teeth, pointing into the living room.

Hunter is awake, and somehow has managed to drag himself to Apollo's treat. One hand is in his mouth, and he is sucking intently on his fingers.

"What," she asks softly, afraid that the tiniest sound will spook him, "was on that dessert?"

"Honey," he says, face lighting up in understanding.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." She moves into the kitchen quickly, pulling out the necessary ingredients to make honeyed milk."

Apollo, meanwhile, moves over to the couch and gently picks Hunter up, careful to support his head. The baby wiggles his arms before staring intently up at Apollo, and the sun god takes a moment to be mesmerized by the child. Silently, he hopes his sister, wherever she is, will forgive him from hiding such a monstrous secret from her.

 _Promise me, Apollo._

He shakes Niobe's words from his head. _Later,_ he says to himself. _When he's ready._ And some part of him (the dark part of him that justifies his viler actions like his spread of plague and the rape of Cyrene and Dryope, and the ones he doesn't think about) whispers that he'll _never_ be ready; that Artemis will kill him and feed his body to her wolves.

 _Artemis would never,_ he thinks back.

 _Then why hide him?_ that other side of him thinks.

 _He is not ready to meet her._

 _When will he? When he's an old man? A corpse, maybe?_

 _When he's a man._

 _Oh, yes, because dear old Arty has such a great track record with men._

 _Shut up. He's her son._

 _He's the son of her enemy. He was made to destroy her. She'll kill him and not lose an ounce of sleep._

 _You're wrong. She'll—_

He is cut off when Leto enters, holding a baby bottle of honeyed milk. "Let me see him," she says, and he gives the baby over quickly. She gives him the nipple, and he begins to gulp the white liquid down with surprising gusto, kicking gently against her arms. When he has drained it all, he lets out a loud burp and reaches for Leto's face. She giggles and spins around, holding the baby close while he coos adorably, and Apollo lets his doubts fade (for now) as he takes in the sight before him.

* * *

 **November 8, 1993; New York City, New York**

The sky is dark and overcast, with a light wind that sends a chill down Leto's back. Central Park is mostly deserted—it is a Monday, after all—and Leto takes great pleasure in that. It allows her to clear her mind and take in the crisp air. Do not mistake her—she absolutely adores children, and takes immense satisfaction in their laughter, but even she needs a break now and then.

Hunter is sitting a few feet away, playing with his stuffed animal. It had been a present from Apollo—a little cotton bear with the name "Hunter" written on the bottom of the left foot. It is cold, but he is bundled up in enough warm clothing that he doesn't notice. He has been uncharacteristically whiney these last few weeks, something she suspects he gets from his mother. Artemis always hated staying in one place for two long, and it is only so long before a baby gets bored in a four-room home.

So, she took an opportunity to do some shopping and get Hunter out of the house. Apollo could not join them, as his attention is divided between his duties on Olympus and a bartender named Samantha Yew. She takes a moment to be exasperated by her son's lack of attention to his nephew, as the boy has become a deal more troublesome since his uncle stopped showing up—something she will have to deal with later.

As she looks at him, Leto cannot help but wonder where the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday that Apollo had barged into her home with the newborn still in his arms. Now, he is able to (mostly) walk, and is beginning to take great offense to affection. He throws fits when Leto kisses him, and she hates it.

Nearby, she senses danger. A quick scan of the area reveals a man walking toward them, dressed in a large coat. A telekhine, she suspects, based on the smell. As he gets closer he notices Leto, and his eyes go wide when he realizes she is not mortal. Her eyes dart to Hunter, then back to him as she conveys a very simple message: _if you even think about touching him, your end will be a slow one._

He turns and beats a hasty retreat.

She turns back to Hunter, but his attention is arrested by the white flakes that have begin to fall from the sky. He opens his mitten-covered hand to catch one, then shrieks when it melts. Leto slides down from her bench to sit next to him.

"That's called snow," she explains. "Hunter, can you say snow?" They have been trying to get him to speak for some time now, but Hunter has remained stubbornly silent.

"Come on, Hunter," she says again. "After me—snow. You can do it. Snow." When he doesn't respond, she gives up and begins gathering up her bags because the snow will ruin them and—

"Snow."

She stops, blinks, turns around. Hunter is holding a tiny snowflake in his hand, looking down at it as though Zeus himself had put it there. He holds it out for her. "Snow! Snow snow snow!"

She laughs and sits down again. "That's right, honey. That's snow!" She kisses his forehead, then sighs when he lets out a cry of indignation. _Boys,_ is all she thinks.

When they make it home, she calls Apollo and tells him what has happened. He doesn't leave Hunter's side for a week. (And when Hunter says "Apollo" at the end of it, she knows why.)

It isn't for another three weeks—and with some coaxing from Apollo—that he manages to say "Leto," but he still manages to melt her heart anyway.

* * *

 **December 6, 1993; New York City, New York**

Leto sits in her son's apartment overlooking the New York skyline. The Empire State Building stands tall nearby, and Leto's gaze turns sad. She has not been on Olympus for some time; decades, if not centuries. That is for the best, she knows; Hera would never stomach her presence, and she has so few friends on the mountain. Still, her family is there, the man whose children she carried and the daughter who she misses.

Briefly, ever so briefly, she considers calling Artemis. _It would only take a moment,_ she thinks. _And Hunter's birthday is coming up. That would be such a nice gift, no?_ She has tried her best, truly she has, and she loves her darling little grandbaby to pieces, but…still.

She is not his mother, nor could she ever hope to be.

She ignores those thoughts, however. Artemis has always been unpredictable, especially toward those of the opposite gender. But still…the goddess of childbirth harming a baby? Surely she would never…but she might. She shakes her head. _When he is older,_ she thinks. _We'll tell her when he is older._ Until then, she will tell him stories of Artemis—legends that will dazzle and wonder him. He'll know he has a good mother, even though he will not meet her.

The sounds of footsteps draws her attention. She and Hunter had visited Apollo for supper, and the two men are returning from a diaper change. Apollo, she reflects, has gotten remarkably good at child-rearing for one so absent from his own children. In the first few months he had been completely clueless; now, he is almost a master.

Apollo is walking Hunter down the hall, holding his hands and leading him into the room. They have been teaching him to walk, though he can do little more than take a step before he loses his balance and falls. Luckily they are quick enough to catch him.

"Go on," Apollo says, with all the warmth of his sun. "Go on, Hunter. Walk to Grandma."

She fights down the wince that name brings. "Grandma" makes her feel old and wrinkled—even though she appears no older than twenty-five; she makes a habit of telling any and all of her grandchildren to call her Leto.

Still, she reaches her arms out and gives an encouraging smile. "Come on, sweetness," she says. "You can do it." They've encouraged him like this before, so that he isn't afraid to fall or fail.

Apollo lets go as Hunter takes a step and…

…takes another. And another. And another. Only then does he lose his balance and falls forward, but Leto only needs to lean forward slightly to catch him. She pulls him close, exhausted. "You did it!" she cries, planting kisses all over his face. "You walked!"

Hunter is pulled from her grasp and lifted into the air by her son Apollo. "'Course you did," he says, laughing. "You're my big strong man, aren't you?" Hunter giggles as Apollo swings him around, and Leto laughs too.

 _We'll tell her when he's older,_ she thinks. _Till then, he's all ours._

* * *

 **March 16, 1994; Brasher Falls State Park, New York**

Something pulls on Leto's arm, dragging her from a painfully bliss sleep. She blinks twice and sees Hunter standing in front of her bed, looking at her with wide eyes.

She sits up and looks over at the clock: _9:32._ She holds back a groan and says, "What's wrong?"

He holds his stuffed bear tightly to his chest and says, "Thirsty."

Closing her eyes and counting to five, she pulls the covers back and moves out of bed, despite her body's protests. She moves to the kitchen, Hunter following closely behind. She pulls out a glass, fills it halfway up with water, and gives it to him. He gulps it down quickly, then gives the glass back to her. She rinses it and leaves it on the rack to dry overnight.

Before she finishes tucking him in, she gives him a kiss and says, "Good night."

She is awakened several hours later by Hunter again. "What now?" she asks, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

He looks down at his diaper, and Leto knows immediately that he has soiled himself. Fighting down another, more feral groan, she pulls herself from bed and brings him to his bedroom, where she quickly changes his wet diaper and makes sure that the sheets haven't gotten wet too. Thankfully, they haven't.

 _Never should have given him that water,_ she thinks as she pulls herself back into bed. Still, there have been worse nights. She remembers when he was five months old, he had gotten a rather bad fever. She didn't sleep for two full days, and Hunter had been feeling even worse. Looking back on it, she couldn't help but feel guilty. A baby was suffering and she was complaining about getting no sleep? She had thoroughly apologized to him by spending the next day snuggling and giving him his favorite baby foods.

She falls asleep moments later, only to be woken up again just after two in the morning.

This time, she couldn't stop the growl that passed her lips. "What," she hisses, "do you have against a good night's sleep?" All malice and annoyance melts when she sees his face, however.

His cheeks are red and covered in tear tracks. His eyes are puffy as well, and he is sniffling.

"What's wrong, honey?" she asks, voice silk-soft.

"Bad dream," he mumbles.

 _Oh,_ she thinks. Then she asks, "Do you want to sleep in here tonight?"

He looks up, hopeful, and asks, "Okay?"

She smiles reassuringly and says, "Yes, it's okay." She pulls the blanket up and moves back. "C'mere, baby."

He squirms up quickly, wiggling into place, his head buried in her chest. She pulls the blanket around them, keeping him safe and warm.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He sniffles again. "Bad. Monsters trying to eat me."

She bites her lip, then kisses his head. She is slightly relieved when he doesn't complain. "Don't worry, no monsters are going to get you."

"Promise?" His words are muffled, but she can still hear them.

"I promise. Apollo and I won't let anything happen to you." And they would; a little over a year ago, Orion came looking for his son. Apollo had managed to fight him off, but it had come too close for comfort. Afterward, the sun god had erected a barrier around their part of the woods so that nobody—god or monster—could enter without invitation.

Hunter nuzzled her chest and went to sleep easily.

Leto sighed and kissed him again. He was getting older, and he would likely have similar dreams more and more often. Not to mention Orion and Niobe were still out there, and if Artemis were to get her hands on him…

 _No,_ Leto thought. _Nothing's going to happen to him._ She would make sure of it, Apollo too. Nothing was going to harm their little boy, and he'd grow up to be one of the greatest demigods Olympus had ever known, and she'd be there, supporting him every step of the way.

But until then, there was no harm in letting him be her baby, was there?

* * *

A/N: This came out of nowhere. Seriously, I wasn't planning on writing any spin-offs of The Hunter's Heir, but after spending half a day with my eighteen-month-old cousin (and to celebrate Hunter's late birthday and early Christmas), I decided to write this. I considered writing some more scenes from Apollo's POV, but decided against it. If that's something you guys want to see (and maybe a few scenes with Artemis), let me know. And if this is something that piqued your curiosity, go check out the story it's based on.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Bye!


	2. Chapter 2

**Treasure Trove**

Jay and I were sitting on the porch of the Artemis cabin, eating strawberries, and enjoying the nice weather. A few weeks after the Battle of the Labyrinth, the afternoon sun still brought a pleasant warmth that only hinted at coming winter. And speaking of Winter, the wolf sat at my heels, savagely chewing on her hot dog chew toy, while Dusk was breaking apart the remains of a squirrel I'd hunted earlier. Melony was off with her mother Hestia, doing what, I had no idea; she said they were going to spend the day together in New York, so we told her to have fun. But she'd be gone for the rest of the day, and since only a handful of campers remained after the summer ended and most of our companions—like Percy, Annabeth, and Will—had returned home to attend school, Jay and I decided to take an easy day.

Which was promptly interrupted by the arrival of Dionysus's remaining son Pollux, whose brother Castor had died at the Battle of the Labyrinth.

He stopped before the steps to the porch, because for some reason many of the males around camp were afraid to step foot on the Artemis cabin. "My father wishes to see you."

I put another strawberry into my mouth. "Why?"

"He wouldn't say, just that it was urgent."

"What if we refuse?"

"He asked for _you_ , and you alone."

I furrowed my brow. Then I sighed, washed my strawberry down with a gulp of dream-wine, and rose. "I'll be back shortly," I told my companions. They raised no objections as I followed the son of Dionysus toward the Big House.

He had changed since his brother's death; sullener, more silent, like a part of him was missing. _You know what that's like,_ I told myself. My chest tightened. _Brandon, Elane, all of you, forgive me._ Orion had killed them all, just to get to me, and I killed him in turn. If there was justice in the world, then Orion was screaming down in Tartarus, and Physis was re-forming quickly. _Please hurry, my lady,_ I prayed. _Come back to us, I can't do it without you._ I was the last of my kind; the last skinwalker of my generation. Until the Mistress of Nature returned, it was up to me to train the next generation. I wasn't sure I'd be able to.

"He's waiting for you inside," Pollux said.

"Thank you, Pollux," I said to him. He looked at me sullenly and walked off. I climbed the porch stairs and walked inside. Chiron and Dionysus were playing a game of cards on the sitting room table, Mr. D on the couch, and Chiron in his wheelchair across from him.

"Ah, you've arrived," Mr. D drawled. "I was beginning to think my son might have gotten lost."

"Pollux was fine, I was just working up the _thrill_ seeing you gives."

He glanced at me. "You know, I remember when a summons from a god would have heroes tripping over their own feet."

"Those heroes died. I don't plan on joining them until my teeth fall out and my hair goes white." I crossed my arms. "What do you want?"

"Leave to return to Olympus, a good hand at these cards, some nice red wine, a little respect, just to name a few."

"My respect is earned, Dionysus."

He turned to me. "How about I turn you into a dolphin for a few hours, will that 'earnyour respect'?"

I scoffed. "You go ahead and try, Dionysus, I have Artemis on speed-dial." _Promise me, Hunter._

"Hmph. She's the reason you're here."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Lord Dionysus here," Chiron said, "has a…problem."

"What sort of 'problem'?"

"A serious one," the god said. "One of my sons, Henry, has gone missing."

"I didn't know you had anymore sons," I admitted.

"It isn't something I make a habit of," he said, "but his mother was…a unique being. She died some months ago, and I promised her I'd keep our boy safe. I sent a satyr to bring him to camp, but we lost contact a few weeks ago."

"And you're only investigating now?"

Purple flames danced in his eyes. "I've been busy, mourning the loss of my son Castor. I had also hoped that his guide met an unfortunate fate but he was still coming, but that seems unlikely now. I asked your mother to spare one of her Hunters or two to find him, but she says they're too busy. Bah! Nonsense, I say. She's never forgiven me for flirting with that Lya girl."

"To be fair, my lord," Chiron said, "she _did_ ask you to stop more than once."

"Still! It was a one-time thing, I promised her, but _nooo_ , she _still_ holds a grudge. Bad enough her little group of fangirls burned down a large part of my camp after the fact, but now she refuses to help? The nerve!"

The direction this conversation took made me angry, so I said, "What does this have to do with me?"

"After my sweet half-sister refused to send any of her girls, she suggested that you might be of some help. 'He's as good a hunter as any of my girls, and more than capable of handling himself in a fight; send my son, and yours will be with you in no time,' those were her words."

A notion of pride welled up in my chest. "She isn't wrong. Very well, I'll help you. Where was your son last seen?"

"Brooklyn. Start there. Bring him back to me, and I promise to reward you well."

Jay was still on my cabin's porch when I returned. "What did Mr. D want?"

"A favor."

"A quest?"

I shook my head. "A rescue mission. Go get your things, I'll explain on the way."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why am I coming?"

"Because odds are, there'll be a number of dangers on this little errand, and I'd feel better with some support."

He got to his feet. "Should we call Melony?"

"No, there's no time. Our target's already been missing for a few weeks; there's no telling what sort of danger he's in. It's just you and me on this one."

He nodded. "Give me a few minutes."

"I'll meet you at the edge of camp," I called to his back. Walking inside, I pulled on my black leather jacket and buckled on my belt, making sure that my new knife was in place. I'd lost my old ones in the fight against Orion, but Artemis had been nice enough to give me one of hers; wasn't really different from my old ones, just a little longer. As a precaution, I threw some extra clothes and some sleeping bags into a backpack. Then I walked to the wall where Dawn hung above my bed, picked it up, and unsheathed it. The blade glowed pale-white in the darkness. Artemis's gift to me, her own personal sword, two-handed and light as a feather, was a symbol of office, a way of identifying me as her heir. In the weeks since I'd gotten it, I'd practiced with it every day, first against Percy, then against Melony when the son of Poseidon went home. They were both still more skilled than I, but admitted that with a little more experience, I might one day be as good as they. I slid the sword back into its sheathe and slipped it onto my back. I'd been experimenting with it, and some other weapons I'd asked the Hephaestus cabin to make, but so far none of them had been successful.

"Come along, Dusk," I said, and the crow fluttered onto my shoulder. "Winter, stay." The wolf didn't look happy about that, but she'd do me more good here than in some overcrowded city.

I didn't need to meet Jay at the edge of camp, because he met me at the edge of the cabins. His spear and shield were on his back, and a backpack was hung over one shoulder.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Brooklyn. We need to find Dionysus's son."

"His son?"

I nodded. "Apparently he's got another one somewhere in Brooklyn. They lost contact, so he's sending us."

"How do you plan on getting us there?"

"Argus'll be driving us."

"Wonderful," he muttered. I laughed. Since Argus had been created by Hera, he saw himself as Jay's older brother, much to the latter's chagrin. The friendly giant is one of the few beings in the world to know Jay is Hera's son—myself, Melony, Hera, and Hestia being the only others.

"Oh, don't look so glum," I admonished, grinning. "It'll be some nice brotherly bonding time for you two."

"I hate you."

"I don't think you do."

"No, I really do."

-o-

We arrived in Brooklyn at around two in the afternoon, so we still had plenty of time to look before nightfall. The drive was lovely; Argus kept trying to strike up a conversation with Jay—well, as good a conversation as could be had when you had an eye on your tongue—who rebuffed him. Argus seemed a little sad about that, but I spoke up from time to time to tell him about the quests we'd been on. Argus dropped us off in front of town hall, promising to pick us up when we needed him. I thanked him and he sped off, but not before he gave Jay a smile. The son of Hera scoffed and stalked away.

"You should try being a little nicer to him," I suggested.

"You should try shutting your mouth," he retorted.

"If I do, will you give him a chance?"

"No."

"Then I guess my mouth's staying open."

After a short while, I picked up on the demigod's scent. It led us downtown, through several tight alleyways, before finally stopping in front of a dumpster behind an Italian restaurant.

"This is it?" Jay asked.

"Apparently so." I looked around. "The trail stops here, so this must be where they ended up."

"But there's no blood, or monster dust. Unless they just gave up, this can't be—hold on."

"What?" I went over to where he was crouched, near the over-stuffed dumpster.

He threw one of the trash bags to the side, then another. "A sewer grate."

"Can you get it open?" He dug his fingers into the middle and ripped it off. "I never doubted you."

He gestured. "Ladies first."

"Then by all means, go right ahead."

He scowled. "Just get down there."

I rolled my eyes. "Make sure you cover the hole back up." I took hold of the ladder and began to climb down.

-o-

The sewer reeked, smelling like something rotting and expired. I had to hold back a gag. "This is something, isn't it?" Jay asked.

"Oh, yeah, I always wanted to spend my weekend in sewers," I said.

"Which way?"

"Hard to tell. The sewage is making it difficult to track the demigod's scent. Dusk, can you tell which way?" The little bird always seemed to know which way to go, and this time was no different. He cawed and began to flap down one of the tunnels. "Don't get too far away from us," I said. If we ran into trouble there was no guarantee I could protect him.

We followed the long tunnel for some time, listening for any signs of trouble. The sewers were like a maze, and more than once I wondered if we had stumbled into the labyrinth. I assured myself that was impossible; the labyrinth had collapsed when its creator Daedalus died, but still, the fear was there. Mel, Jay, and I had wandered the labyrinth for a few days, and I didn't relish the thought of being back down there. The underground wasn't someplace I liked. No open space. No fresh air.

Eventually we came to a dead end, where the sewage came out from a tunnel above us. "Do we turn around?" Jay asked.

Dusk cawed and flew up there. "No," I said. "Dionysus's son is that way, so that's the way we go."

"How do we get up there."

I pointed. "I brought some rope with me. I'll climb up and then lower it down to you. Can you climb that?" He nodded. "Good. I'll be quick."

The wall was only about twenty feet, not a hard climb. Time had withered down the concrete, so I only had to probe a little to find a good handhold. I climbed up, arm-over-arm, then shimmied over and climbed into the tunnel. There were bars where water came through to the side, so I tied the rope around it and threw the other end down to Jay. It was a little short, but he was able to jump to it. When he climbed up he asked, "Should we take it with us?"

I nodded. "Just in case."

We continued on, trying not to step in sewage along the way. A rat scurried out of a whole in the wall, and Dusk cawed. "Quiet," I said.

"What?" Jay asked.

"You hear that?"

He listened. At the end of the tunnel came the sounds of voices. We snuck along, careful not to make a noise. There, below us, in a chamber where the sewage pooled together before flowing down several smaller tunnels, was half a dozen or so monsters: a cyclops, some Scythian Dracanae, and somethings that looked like a blend of a Doberman pinscher, a human child and a sea lion—a telekhine. Percy described them to me. They were what re-forged Kronos's scythe.

"Why are we still down here?" the cyclops asked. "Everything around here smells! One half-blood can't be worth it."

"We're here because our massssster demandsssss it," one of the snakes said. "Keep looking, we're ssssso clossssse, I can feel it."

"What do we do?" Jay asked.

"We have some fun," I said, jumping down. "You guys looking for a half-blood?" I asked, smirking. "Here's one, and he is stunning."

"Kill him!" the snake lady said.

I drew Dawn and went to work. I had already cut down one of the snakes and a telekhine when Jay joined in, impaling the cyclops with his spear and moving on to another telekhine. We cut through the other monsters so quickly there was no time for them to sound the alarm.

"Do you really need to be so reckless?" Jay asked.

I shrugged. "Low-level monsters are nothing, Jay. Why should I need to worry about them?"

"That sort of thinking's going to get you killed one day."

"If I get killed by the likes of these, then maybe I deserve it."

He scoffed. "Which way?"

I pointed down a tunnel. "Here."

We came across a handful of monsters, broken up into pairs, along the way. We cut them down easy enough and didn't break stride. I was so caught up in finding the half-blood I wouldn't have noticed the piece of concrete falling toward my head if Jay hadn't tackled me out of the way. "Look out!"

My head would've been caved in if he hadn't saved me. "Thank you, Jay," I said as he helped me up.

"It's not a big deal, just be more aware next time."

"Yeah, I'll definitely—there!" I shouted as the culprit ran into a tunnel above us. "Come on!"

We raced up the ladder and began to run after him.

"I'll end you!" came his voice, but the tunnels made it echo, so there was no way to tell which direction it came from.

"Stop, Henry!" I shouted. "We're trying to help you!"

"I don't want your help!"

After a few minutes, right when we were passing through a T tunnel that opened onto a similar chamber to the one we had been in, something slammed into me, knocking me into the other chamber. I landed with a grunt and found two dozen monsters gaping down at me in surprise.

"Hunter!" Jay called. "Are you all right?"

"Do not come down here!" I shouted. "Stay on him, do _not_ let him get away." I unsheathed Dawn. "Leave these to me."

The monsters roared and charged. I dodged the first one, cut down the second and third, then sidestepped the fourth. I raised my arm and a murder of spectral crows burst forth from the ground. One of my abilities that I'd inherited from Artemis—I could summon certain kinds of animals forth. So far I'd only been able to do wolves and crows, and even then not very many. This would be my only usage of that skill today. If I pushed myself too hard, I risked passing out or worse.

The crows descended upon the monsters, clawing and pecking at their eyes, mouths, necks. A good half dozen fell that way, and they provided enough of a distraction that I was able to kill a good number of the rest with my sword, my knife, and my bow. By the time I was done all that was left was dust and a bit of blood where a telekhine had scratched at my face and gotten cut in half for his troubles. He only left a little cut, nothing time and a sip of nectar wouldn't heal.

I climbed quickly as I could back to the tunnel, doing my best to find Jay's scent. "Come on, Dusk!" I called as I ran. I raced down half a dozen tunnels, turning left then right then left again, on and on.

At some point the sewer merged with an abandoned railway, with tracks leading in every which direction. Luckily it made it much easier to track Jay that way. I followed his scent for several minutes before I caught up with him.

"Did you find him?"

He shook his head. "No, but I think he went this way."

I turned to Dusk. "Do you have the scent?"

He cawed and flapped his wings, as though offended at even the _suggestion_ that he didn't.

"Show us the way."

-o-

Eventually Dusk led us down a long corridor with a metal door. He perched upon it can gave a caw.

"He's in here," I told Jay.

"You think he barricaded himself in?"

"Will it matter?"

"No." Jay grabbed the door and wrenched it off its hinges. We stepped inside, and found ourselves in a small square chamber no larger than the Artemis cabin. Henry stood with his back to the wall, sword in hand.

"Come on!" he screamed. "I'm ready."

He evidently wasn't, because I was able to disarm him before he could react. His eyes widened and he pressed himself against the wall. I pushed Dawn's blade to his throat. "Why did you attack us?"

He scowled. "You really need to ask that? I guess you Kronos minions are stupider than I thought."

I lowered my sword. "You think we serve Kronos?"

He rubbed his neck. "Don't you?"

"No, we don't."

"Your father sent us," Jay said. "We're here to bring you home."

"M-My father?"

"Yes," I said. "Dionysus. You know, short, fat, mild alcoholic? That's your daddy, kiddo. Congrats."

He blinked. "I…I thought he forgot about me."

"He has just been busy," Jay said. "Much has been going on in our world."

"You mean Kronos?" he asked.

"Yes." I frowned. "How do you know about that?"

"He's been sending hunting parties out, looking for recruits." He scowled. "We—my friends and I—ran into one. They killed our escort, and we came here to hide."

"And where are your friends now?"

A pained look crossed his face. "Dead. My fault."

"What do you mean?"

"We decided to split up, make it harder for them to find us, but…I ran into Lord Plutus. He captured my soul, and threatened to banish me to Tartarus if I didn't bring my friends to him."

"Plutus, you say?" I asked, uneasy. _That's not possible._

"Yes. He promised he'd be merciful, but…" His lip wobbled. "When they refused to join, he killed them! I managed to get away, but I can't leave this sewer, or I'm doomed."

"We'll take care of it," I promised.

Henry gaped at us. "But…but…Plutus is a god! One of Kronos's lieutenants!"

"A _minor_ god," I said. "Besides, we've dealt with immortals before. Wait here until we return."

He nodded. "I will. You can find Plutus by following the tracks outside for about a hundred feet, then take a left. Keep going straight till you reach the service junction. He's turned it into his own personal throne room."

"Thank you. We'll return shortly."

"Good luck."

When we left the room, Jay asked, "What is it? You looked troubled."

"He said someone stole his soul."

"Can't the gods do that?"

I shook my head. "Only a few—Hades, Thanatos, the Furies if they're acting on their lord's orders, Ares, maybe Deimos and Phobos, but _Plutus_? He's a god of wealth. There's no _way_ he should have that sort of power."

"So either he's gotten an upgrade since joining Kronos…"

"…or he's lying. Either way, it's something we need to get to the bottom of."

-o-

We followed Henry's directions, cutting down any errant monsters we found. The junction had been reconstructed into a great chamber, filled to the brim with gold, jewels, and all manner of things worth something to someone. Sitting upon a great stone throne, was the god Plutus himself.

He was small; not quite a child, but certainly not an adult. From the look of his legs, he was crippled, too. Apollo once told me he was blind, but by the look of things he could see just well enough. Small wings, like a bird, twitched slowly.

"Welcome, gentlemen," he said, running a hand through the gold piled high around his throne and letting the drachma coins slip between his fingers. "What can I help you with?"

"We're looking for a soul," I said. "Got any lying around here?"

He sniffed. "I don't know _what_ you're talking about, young man. I'm merely a collector of coins, not souls. Why would I—"

"Don't play dumb, Plutus," I said. "We know—"

"It's _Lord_ Plutus to you, boy." His eyes narrowed.

"Kronos must be _desperate_ , to name you a lord."

"Watch your tongue, half-blood, or I will rip it from your mouth!" He jabbed a finger at me. "Begone from this place, or else…"

"Not until you give Henry back his soul."

He rolled his eyes. "His soul's damnation was merely a threat to bend him to my will. After all, what harm could a half-blood really do?"

"You're about to find out," I said. Beside me, Jay readied his spear.

He slammed a fist down on his throne's arm. "Artemis and Apollo may favor you, half-blood, but heir or no, I grow tired of your whinging."

"I really don't have time for this, so can we hurry this along?"

He spread his wings and ascended into the air, summoning a spear and pointing it at us. "You die now!"

I looked at Jay, looked back, and laughed. "Now we all know _that_ isn't true." I drew Dawn. Dusk fluttered off my shoulder and out of danger.

Plutus plunged toward us, and we dove out of the way as he drove his spear into the ground. He came up, spinning, the point of his spear just barely missing us as we sidestepped. He was staying upright thanks to his wings, so it seemed only right to target them.

"The wings!" I shouted.

"Got it," Jay said.

With blinding speed, Plutus rushed at me, spear pointed out to impale me. I dodged to the side, then came on quick, managing to cut in a cut across his chest. He growled and spun, his wings outstretched to knock us away. Then he spread them and soared, charging toward me. I dodged to the side, and three more times he charged at us, and each time we managed to move. As he turned to begin a fifth charge, I ran at Jay. He cupped his hands together and vaulted me into the air. Plutus was so surprised he wasn't able to change course.

We collided but managed to stay aloft. I drew the dagger Artemis had given me and stabbed it into his shoulder, going as deep as I could. He screamed. I grabbed his head and used the momentum to throw him to the ground.

Dazed, he couldn't react quick enough when we ran at him. We fell upon the god, fists flying, aiming for his chest, arms, head. Jay's blows were great enough to leave great purple welts, but I was fast enough to do a good deal of damage on my own. After a moment of that, the coins around us began to vibrate.

Aware of the danger, we threw ourselves to the sides as the coins erupted into a great whirlwind surrounding Plutus. The coins were moving too fast to get through, so we waited, until finally they shot in all directions. We would have been seriously hurt if Jay hadn't used his shield to block most of them, but our legs still took a bit of damage.

We moved as one, but Plutus slammed his spearpoint into the ground, and two dozen others sprouted up around him. I screamed when one cut my leg, but Jay managed to avoid getting cut.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" I hissed. "Look out!"

Jay dove to the side as the coins below him exploded, Plutus emerging like a whale from the ocean. He dove beneath the blanket of coins at our feet, and the ground was still. Then, a moment later, I felt a tingle beneath my feet, like ice settling, and jumped out of the way in time to avoid him. The god did this over and over, submerging and emerging near us. I waited until he was beneath me, then threw myself at Jay. He grabbed my waist and collar and threw me at the airborne god. I slammed into him, punching him between the eyes as hard as I could.

He fell, and again we were on him, punching and kicking until his face was a ruin of purple tissue and blood. The ground beneath us began to shake, and suddenly we were sucked down to our knees in golden coins and treasure.

Plutus dove upon Jay, his spear aimed for the throat, but Jay managed to intercept the spear, catching it before it could impale him. "Hunter!"

I dug myself out as quickly as I could, running toward them. I jumped on Plutus, driving my knife into his back and using the momentum to flip him into his stomach. He tried to attack me, but Jay ran him through with his spear, pushing him back and back and back.

Plutus knocked Jay away with a solid backhand, then wrenched the spear from his side and snapped it. "Enough of this!" He charged.

"Jay!" I shouted, and the son of Hera threw his shield. Plutus dove out of the way, but the shield hadn't been aimed at him. I caught it and threw it like a frisbee, catching the god in the side of the head as he rose to his feet.

Jay and I ran as hard as we could for the god, grabbing his shoulders and wings, respectively, and pulling. The wings tore from his body with a loud _crack,_ and Plutus screamed. Jay threw his body against the wall with a heavy impact.

Jay picked up his broken weapon. "He broke my spear."

I knew how that felt. My own father, Orion, had broken the bow I'd had since I was a child. "Then take his," I said, holding out the god's weapon. That was what I had done with Orion's weapon.

He took it and ran his hand along it. It was nearly the same as his own, but the point was a little longer and golden. "I like it."

"Good," I said. "Now let's go deal with our little friend over there."

Plutus lay broken and bloody, ichor leaking out. "What's wrong, Plutus?" I asked. "No more tricks?"

He tried to crawl away, but Jay's foot slammed down on his hand. He screamed. "What's Kronos planning?" Jay asked.

"Start talking, bitch, and we _might_ let you return to Olympus with all your parts."

Plutus sneered at us. "Kronos has shown me wonders beyond even your comprehension. You can offer me noth—" My sword relieved him of his head.

"Guess he wasn't feeling talkative. Oh well."

"You wouldn't have spared him even if he had been," Jay said.

"Probably not, no." I sheathed Dawn. "But he's not dead, not really. But since he's a minor god, hopefully he won't be back for another century or two." I looked around. "What should we do with all this stuff?"

"Leave it."

"You sure? If Kronos knows about this place, he can probably buy all the support he needs to launch a full-scale invasion."

He thought about that for a minute. "We'll call Chiron, have him send teams to pick it up."

I smirked. "Connor and Travis will _love_ that." I held out my hand, showing off a little replica of the Empire State Building. "But _this_ is mine."

He scowled. "Come on, let's go get Henry."

"Right behind you." Dusk perched upon my shoulder, head held high, like he had been the one to defeat the rogue god. I laughed. "Yes, you were very helpful." I scratched under his chin. He cawed triumphantly as we left.

-o-

Henry stood up when we entered. "Well?"

"Plutus won't be bothering you anymore," I said.

He sighed. "Thank gods, my soul is free."

Jay and I glanced at each other. "Henry, Plutus, he…he had no power over your soul."

He looked between us. "What?"

"Your soul's damnation was a threat, one he used to control you."

He shook his head back and forth. "No…No! That—that's impossible."

"I'm sorry," I said.

He wiped his eyes. "Then…then my friends…I…I gave them over for _nothing_?"

I held out a hand. "Come with us. You could come to our camp, fight Kronos and those like him."

He shook his head. "I can't, I don't deserve that. Hunter, I know you were sent here to bring me to my father, but…I can't go on."

A lump formed in my stomach. "You wish to find peace?"

"Yes," he said. "Whatever that might be."

I nodded. "Very well. Turn around." He did. Quick as I could, I drew Dawn and severed his head from his body.

"What do we do now?" Jay asked. He didn't look happy, but then again, neither did I. It seemed like such…a waste. Coming here, only to leave emptyhanded. It should have been avoided. Kronos needed to be stopped, his machinations ended. Those that sided with him would be punished. _All_ those that sided with him, gods included.

"We go home."

"And Dionysus?"

"We found his son, but we couldn't save him."

"He won't like that."

"No, I imagine he won't." I sighed. "Come on, my friend. Let's go home."

Wordlessly, we left the underground behind.

* * *

A/N: Please leave a review telling me what you thought. Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you all for the next little one-shot in a few months.

Bye!


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